"TIME OUT FOR SANITY!" -- An excerpt from 2nd edition

“TIME OUT FOR SANITY!” – An excerpt from 2nd edition

James R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.

© October 23, 2014  

“Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock, for when it is once passed there is no recalling it.”

—Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Irish satirist and author of “Gulliver’s Travels”

This essay was first written in another form more than 40 years ago. The “afterword” and “after afterword” are new. They are written to bridge the gap between yesterday and today, illustrating what experience has taught me by looking back to see ahead.

My original reason for writing this essay was to stimulate the conscience of ordinary souls like myself, not scholars, not dilettantes, not specialists. I desired the reader to ponder things that had gotten in our way. With that premise in mind, I made these assumptions:

The first assumption is that I claim to be no authority, but write from my perceptions, reading, and experience. Social critic Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) stated it well: “If you want to write about life, the only data you have is your own life. Take someone like Tolstoy.  You can identify in his novels every character. Serious writers use data of their own experience of living.”

The second assumption is that we all have an interest in what makes people act the way they do. I am trained in the social and behavioral sciences, yet echo psychologist philosopher Sigmund Koch‘s ((1917-1996) caution: “Psychology cannot be a coherent science.” Healthy skepticism is encouraged. I am simply asking you to compare what is written here with what you are experiencing today.

The third assumption is that we are all born wonderers and therefore all philosophers. Contemporary philosopher Alan Watts (1915-1973) captures this sentiment: “A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gapes and stares at what sensible people take for granted, a person who cannot get rid of the feeling that the barest of facts of everyday life are unbelievably odd. Aristotle put it best: the beginning of philosophy is wonder.”

The fourth assumption is that we are all born storytellers. Our lives are the tapestry of great novels. Each episode in that life is the fabric of a compelling short story. The sharing of the story touches universal themes of a common humanity. Everyone is kin to everyone else. No matter what the writer’s experience, it belongs to the reader as well.

The fifth and final assumption is that we are all selling something.   From the moment we rise in the morning until we lay our heads down on our pillow at night, we are selling our worth, ideas, and our appeal to others. What follows then is a passion play of self in the context of another time that seems remarkably like our present.

Today (2014) is an electrifying time to be alive with challenge and opportunity competing with our limited time and energy.  Are we in a cage of our own making, or are we free to be all that we could become and can be? As you ponder this, think in terms of psychological time. You will find once you make a decision, make a choice, and make a commitment that the rest is anticlimactic, demonstrating that you are in charge.

Clearly, we possess the equipment to produce miracles when so often we stagnate and purchase misery instead. My wonder is if this is a chronic illness embedded in our cultural DNA for which we have no escape. If so, are we content to remain complacently stuck, or are we ready to become unstuck? It is a matter of choice. Once the choice is made the mind and body, indeed the spirit escapes its stuckness and soars beyond expectations. I know because it happened to me.

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